Trees burn on the slopes of Mount Agung volcano after it erupted on July 3, 2018. Picture: Sonny Tumbelaka

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Bali’s Mount Agung volcano erupts

by AAP

22nd Apr 2019 8:36 AM

JAKARTA'S Mount Agung on Indonesia's resort island of Bali has erupted again, spewing volcanic ash into the sky to a height of 2km, an official said.

The active volcano erupted at 3.21am on Sunday and the thick ash column was blown to the southwest, causing a drizzle of volcanic ash in the Karangasem, Bangli and Klunglung districts, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the national disaster mitigation agency, said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties but the volcano's status remains on alert, or level three of four possible levels. Authorities continue to impose a four-kilometre exclusion zone around the active volcano.

Two other volcanoes, popular with tourists on the island of Java, also continue to erupt.

Mount Bromo in East Java and Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta remain on standby, with exclusion zones also place.

"This a normal situation of an active volcano and there is no need for the public to panic, as long as they remain outside the danger zone. Don't try to get closer to the crater to document the volcanic activity in the crater," Nugroho said.

Foreign climbers have tried to ignore the danger zone status and attempted to climb Mount Agung, causing rescuers to scour the mountain in a bid to evacuate them.